07 May 2026|News
The Purple Princess returns to Donington Historic Festival
With the Purple Princess freshly off the track from her recent race at the 83rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, Team Hilton & Moss set eyes on Donington Park Circuit for the Motor Racing Legends Donington Historic Festival. Having competed in the Purple Princess for the first time at last year’s event, 2026 promised another three packed days of retro racing to celebrate a fantastic range of cars.
Over the long weekend, hundreds of classic racing cars gathered to take to the legendary historic circuit. From the pre-war era through to the modern GT age, stunning examples from every decade took to the track to compete throughout the weekend.
With a range of Motor Racing Legends categories on the programme, Team Hilton & Moss's Pre-'63 Jaguar E-Type competed in the HMRN Pre '63 GT category, a class celebrating Grand Touring cars of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Open to closed two-seater GT cars homologated before 1963, the grid featured historic racing marques such as Jaguar, Ferrari, Austin-Healey and Lotus, making the E-Type right at home.
The festival got underway with the HMRN Pre '63 category first out on the circuit for qualifying at 9am. William and Tim took to the track for an exhilarating 30 minute qualifying session in the morning sunshine. With the owner's race that afternoon, William finished with the 10th fastest lap, placing Team Hilton & Moss 10th on the grid for that afternoon's owners’ race.
Later in the day, William returned to the circuit for race one of the HMRN Pre '63 category. With 25 minutes out on Donington Park circuit, William raced fiercely, battling it up to 6th position out of the 16 cars on track. This solid result put Team Hilton & Moss in a good starting position for day 2 of racing where both Tim & William would take to the track in the Purple Princess.
After a well-earned evening of rest, Team Hilton & Moss were back at Donington Park ready to compete once more on the Saturday. For Race 2, Tim joined William on the sweeping bends and undulating lines of Donington’s iconic circuit.
With a clear sky overhead, Team Hilton & Moss started in 6th position, with William taking the first stint. William held off the competition and pushed the Purple Princess to her maximum, over speeds of 150 kmph. After several laps, Tim took over delivering a powerful performance, helping to climb the grid. With strong competition out on the legendary circuit, Team Hilton & Moss unfortunately missed out on a podium finish at this year's Donington Historic Festival.
A huge thank you to Motor Racing Legends for hosting another great event and also to everyone who supported Team Hilton & Moss over the weekend, either in person or on the event livestream.
